hostage
/ˈhɑstɪdʒ/
noun
- A person who is captured and held by someone, usually to force others to do something.
- The government refused to negotiate with the terrorists who took hostages.
- During the bank robbery, several customers were taken hostage.
- The kidnappers held the businessman hostage for a week.
- Something that is controlled by outside forces and cannot be freely used or changed.
- The project became a hostage of the budget cuts.
- She felt her career was a hostage to her family's needs.
- The new law held the company's expansion plans hostage to regulatory approval.